Surgical cast shears



Nov. 30, 1948. A. J. HOOD 2,455,0fi9

SURGI CAL CAS 1' SHEARS Filed March 28, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 im d INVENTOR. H. J'Jzfood Nov. 30, 1948. A. J. Hobo 2,455,009

SURGICAL CAST SHEARS Filed March 28, 1945 2 S t 1eets-Sh eet 2 IN V EN TOR.

H.J.']Cooo Patented Nov. 30, 1948 U N l TED STAT ES. PATENT O FF ICE SURGICAL CAST SHEARS Arthur J. Hood, Reno, Nev.

Application March 28, 1945, Serial No. 585,329

Claims. 1

The present invention relates generally to improved, manually operated shears of a heavyduty, high-leverage type; such shears being especially designed for cutting surgical casts.

This invention represents modifications of the device shown in copending application, Serial No. 572,683, filed January 13, 1945.

One object of the present invention is to provide shears which include a novel jaw assembly having downwardly offset cooperating jaws whereby the handles are disposed above the work, which permits such handles to be swung above the work in clearance relation so as to turn the jaw assembly relatively sharply, as is desirable to accomplish abrupt angle cuts.

Another object is to embody, in shears having upper and lower jaws connected in cooperating relation, a unique movable stop arrangement whose purpose is to prevent said jaws, in one position of the stop, from cutting entirely through the work. When cutting a surgical cast, for example, the jaws cut a ribbon from the cast, and with the stop in said one position the ribbon is not severed with each cutting operation. As a consequence, the lower jaw remains under such ribbon and may be easily slid forwardly under the cast for the next cutting operation without making a fresh entry under said cast, as would be necessary if the ribbon were severed, permitting the lower jaw to raise above the plane of the inner surface of the cast.

A further object of the invention is to embody cooperating jaws and corresponding handles in a unique shear assembly; the jaws and handles being connected together in a manner so that a very great leverage may be imparted to the jaws by manipulation of said handles.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device, and yet one which will be exceedingly efiective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the shears, showing the limit of closing movement of the jaws when the movable stop is in operative position.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of theshears with the movable stop in inoperative position; the fully closed position of the jaws being shown in full lines.

Figure 3 is a cross section on Fig. 1.

line 3-3 of Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the forward portion ofthe shears.

' Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the shears comprise a straight, elongated lower handle I formed at the forward end portion as a flatsided shank 2; A rigid finger 3 is formed integral with and upstands from the front end of the shank 2. g

The upper handle of the shears is indicated at 4 and is elongated in corresponding relation to the lower handle l said upper handle being formed at its forward end with a fork 5 which straddles the upper end of the upstanding finger 3; said parts being connected together by a cross pin 6'. By this arrangement the upper handle 4 is mounted in connection with the lower handle I for relative vertical swinging movement.

At the forward end of the shank 2, and integral therewith, the shears are formed with a forwardly and downwardly curved lower jaw 'l, the front end or point of which is disposed ahead of the finger 3 and in a horizontal plane a substantial distance below the longitudinal axis of thelower handle I; said jaw I being concave on top' and convex on the bottom, as shown.

An upper jaw 8, of elongated U-shape in plan, closely straddles the fiat-sided shank 2; the forward portion of said upper jaw being downward ly and forwardly curved in generally symmetrical cooperating relation to the lower jaw I. The rear end portion of the upper jaw 8 comprises a transversely spaced pair of legs 9 pivotally connected to the shank 2 by a transverse pivot I0: At the front end the upper jaw 8 includes .a cross web II, and the lower edge of said cross web, together with the lower edges of the sides I2 of the upper jaw 8, are sharpened to form cutting blades, indicated at I3 and M, respec tively.

The lower jaw l progressively enters the upper jaw 8, in shearing relation to the cutting blades I3and I4, when said jaws are moved from open to closed position. The jaws are adapted to be cooperatively actuated by means of the following arrangement:

A thrust link I5 is pivotally connected at its lower end on a cross pin I6 which extends between the legs 9 adjacent their forward ends, said link extending upwardly from such cross pin.

The upper end portion of the thrust link I5 is jaw I and the then bpen upper jaw 8.j Thereafter,v

with the lower handle I held stationary, the upper handle 4 is swung rearwardly and downwardly,

the thrust link imparting such movement, with compound leverage, to the upper jaw-8, which cuts downwardly through the cast and severs a ribbon therefrom when the jaws are fully closed. Downward movement of the handle His limited by a fixed stop 19 which depends from said upper handle, intermediate its ends, for engagement with the lower handle; the jaw I and 8 being fully closed when the stop l9 engages the lower handle.

However, for certain uses, as for example-the cutting of an unbroken ribbon from a cast, it is desirable that closing movement of the jaws be limited so as to prevent full closing thereof, 1. e., to prevent entry of the point of the lower jaw 1 into the upper jaw 8. Thisis accomplished by providing a swingab-ly mounted stop 20 which includes a fork 2| straddling the rear end portion of the shank 2 and being pivotally secured to the latter by a cross pin 22. The swingably mounted stop 20 is releasably held in ,a position clear of the fixed stop E9, or in another position in the path of, said fixed stop l9, by means of a spring pressed detent 23. When the swingably mounted stop 20 is swung to a position, in thepath of the fixed stop 19, as shown in Fig. 1, the handles l and 4 are limited in approaching movement so that the lower jaw 1 can only partially enter the upper jaw 8, as shown in Fig. 1.

When closing movement of the jaws is so limited it will be seen that with each cutting operation the rib-hon cut from a surgical cast will not be severed and will feed upwardly through the upper jaw 8. Consequently the lower jaw I remains under such ribbon, and can thus be easily advanced under the cast whenthe jaws are open and preparatory to makingthe next cut. It will thus be seen that the operator has the option of entirely severing each section of ribbon cut from the cast, or to maintain said ribbon unbroken through successive cuts.

Another feature of the present invention which is of importance is the downward offsetting of the jaws I and 8, which ofisetting permits the operator to swing the handles in clearance relation above the cast for the purpose of making relatively sharp turns with the jaws, as is frequently necessary in cast removal, i. e. in making abrupt angle cuts.

While the described shears have been designed primarily for surgical cast cutting, it is of course recognized that such shears may be effectively put to other uses.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as .do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. 7

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful and upon which Letters Patent is desired:

1. Shears comprising upper and lower 1ongi tudinally extending handles, means transversely pivotally connecting said handles together for relative swinging movement, a tongue-like jaw projecting from one handle, a generally U- sh-aped jaw mounted on the other handle for cooperative shearing action with the tongue-like jaw, the latter progressively entering the U- shaped jaw upon closing of the shears, and stop means arranged to limit closing movement of the shears to a point at which said tongue-like jaw is short of fully closed position relative to said U-shaped jaw.

2i Shears comprising upper and lower longitudinally extendin handles, means transversely pivotally connecting said handles together for relative swinging movement, a tongue-like jaw projecting from one handle, a generally U-shaped jaw mounted on the other handle for cooperative shearing action with the tongue-like jaw, the latter progressively entering the U-shaped jaw upon closing of the shears, and a handle engaging stop element pivotally mounted on one handle for movement from an inoperative position to an operative position wherein jaw closing movement of the handles is limited by said stop to a point at which said tongue-like jaw is short of fully closed position relative to the U-shaped law.

3. Shears as in claim 2 including holding means arranged to manually releasably hold the movable stop elementin either inoperative or operative position.

4. Shears comprising a lower handle, a lower jaw proj eoting forwardly in rigid relation from the lower handle, an elongated U-shaped upper jaw opening rearwardly and straddling the lower jaw, means pivoting the upper jaw adjacent its rear end on the lower jaw for cooperating cutting movement, an ear projecting upwardly in rigid relation from the lower jaw intermediate its ends and between the sides of the upper jaw, an upper handle disposed above and in vertical alinement with the lower handle, means pivoting the upper handle at its forward end to said ear for swinging movement in a vertical plane, and an actuating link pivotally connected between the upper handle and the upper jaw adjacent but to the rear of said ear; there being a stop element on one handle adapted to be engaged by the other handle so as to limit closing movement of said handles to a point at which said jaws are only partially closed whereby a throat then remains between the front end portions of said jaws.

5. Shears comprising upper and lower longitudinally extending handles, means transversely pivotally connecting said handles together for relative swinging movement, tongue-like jaw projecting from one handle, a substantially U-shaped jaw projecting from the other handle, the tongue-like jaw being normally operable, upon swinging of the handles, to pass through the U-shaped jaw and completely sever a ribbon-like piece from material disposed between the jaws, and stop means arranged to be brought into position to so limit the swinging of the handles that the outer end of the tongue-like jaw will stop short of passing between the U-shaped jaw, resulting in only the side edges of the ribbon of material being out, whereby the shears may then be progressively advanced and operated to cut a ribbon of extended length without severance of the end thereof from the body of the ma- 5 terial until the stop means is positioned to again allow full normal swinging movement of the handles.

ARTHUR J. HOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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